In a landmark achievement, Sub-Inspector Geeta Samota of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has become the first officer from the force to successfully summit Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet). She reached the summit on the morning of May 19, 2025.
Geeta joined the CISF in 2011 and soon discovered a passion for mountaineering, a path largely untrodden within the force. In 2015, she was selected for a six-week basic mountaineering course at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) training institute in Auli, where she stood out as the only woman in her batch. Her stellar performance led to advanced training in 2017, making her the first CISF officer to complete such an intensive mountaineering program.
Her climbing career accelerated in 2019 when she became the first woman from the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to summit both Mount Satopanth (7,075 meters) in Uttarakhand and Mount Lobuche (6,119 meters) in Nepal. In another display of endurance and skill, she scaled five peaks in the remote Rupshu region of Ladakh within just three days – three of them soaring above 6,000 meters.
With her successful ascent of Everest, Geeta Samota has not only set a historic precedent within the CISF but also become a symbol of perseverance, courage, and national pride
